Portsmouth spruces up for Obama visit; will ask campaign for reimbursement

Thursday

Sep 6, 2012 at 3:15 AMSep 6, 2012 at 5:32 AM

By JIM HADDADINjhaddadin@fosters.com

PORTSMOUTH — In 27 years working on the grounds of Strawbery Banke Museum, barrel maker Ron Raiselis said he's learned there's at least one advantage to hosting a high-profile guest.

"It's a good way to get things cleaned up in a hurry," the cooper said Wednesday, as he packed the tools of his trade into a wooden supply building.

With President Barack Obama appearing at Strawbery Banke on Friday, employees are sprucing up the grounds of the museum this week in preparation for the presidential visit.

Dozens of campaign staffers, city officials and public safety planners are also laying the groundwork for the Friday afternoon event.

Scheduled to appear are Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, first lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden. The president and vice president are expected to discuss the choice in this election between "two fundamentally different visions on how to build an economy built to last," according to an announcement from the Obama campaign.

Obama's trip to New Hampshire will come on the heels a speech tonight at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., where Obama and Biden will accept the party's nomination for re-election.

Obama will be the first sitting president since George Washington to visit Strawbery Banke, according to museum spokeswoman Stephanie Seacord. Washington visited Portsmouth in 1789, while on a tour of the 13 former colonies.

Red, white and blue window bunting has been cleaned and pressed in preparation for Obama's visit to the museum, and staffers were removing loose items from the grounds Wednesday.

"We just want Strawbery Banke to look its absolute best," Seacord said. "What better place (for a presidential visit) than a museum of American history, where a lot of America's history all started?"

Raiselis, a Lebanon, Maine, resident, was instructed to pack up all the loose material outside his barrel-making workshop. It's sited beside the expansive lawn where the president is expected to speak.

City councilors said the campaign was originally looking at Market Square as a potential site for the president's event in Portsmouth. Prescott Park was another location under consideration. However, Seacord said the large lawn at Strawbery Banke was best suited to the gathering. Organizers are expecting a turnout of between 3,000 and 5,000 people, she said.

"Really, in having the City Council recommend Strawbery Banke, the concern is that Prescott Park is an open space, but with the flower gardens, you can't put that many people there, but we have an open field," she said.

The museum will remain open on Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., but guests will be limited to taking guided, 90-minute tours, rather than being able to walk the grounds freely. The museum will close to the public Friday, when the campaign will rent out the entire 10-acre property.

A wide swath of roads surrounding the museum will be closed down in the lead-up to the event. Workers from the Portsmouth police and fire departments and the Department of Public Works are expected to assist in the day's operations.

The city's school superintendent also said schools will be closed Friday due to the campaign stop. Ed McDonough said the police department, in conjunction with the Secret Service, recommended that three schools be dismissed early. But he said that would involve separate bus runs.

The Portsmouth Herald reported McDonough said given the high volume of traffic expected Friday, the district is better served to close all schools and reschedule a full day of school. That's currently planned for May 24, 2013, a day originally scheduled as a teacher workshop day.

Obama's trip to Portsmouth this week will mark his fourth visit to the Granite State of the year. It will also be his third appearance since June in southeastern New Hampshire. Obama's recent campaign stops in Durham, Windham and Rochester have provoked debate in each community regarding whether taxpayers should foot the bill for hosting a campaign appearance by a sitting president.

On Tuesday, members of Portsmouth's City Council voted 5-4 to ask the Obama campaign for reimbursement of the public safety costs associated with hosting the upcoming event.

"We're, of course, absolutely thrilled and honored to have the president coming here," said Councilor Ken Smith, who voted in favor of asking the campaign to foot the bill. "It was a 5-4 vote that the campaign should be picking up the extra expenses for the police and fire and DPW overtime, and so at the end of it, the numbers will be calculated, and a bill will be sent off to the campaign."

Smith said in the past, other politicians, including GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, have been billed for extra costs incurred by the town during events.

"This has already taken place," he said. "Campaigns that have come here and had police details have been billed in the past."

On Wednesday, Mayor Eric Spear confirmed the Romney campaign was billed for the services of a single police officer during the event. The campaign was charged a fee of about $200, Spear said.

During the Obama event, Portsmouth police will be involved in security operations, both in the crowd and as part of the president's motorcade, according to Smith. The fire department will be on standby to handle hazardous materials or provide ambulance services, and public works employees will be setting up barricades and signs to direct spectators.

The Rockingham County Sheriff's Department and State Police will also provide assistance.

In addition to their Portsmouth visit, President Obama, Vice President Biden, first lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden will also travel Friday to Iowa City, Iowa.

Following the events in New Hampshire and Iowa, the president will begin a two-day bus tour through Florida on Saturday and the vice president will travel to Ohio on Saturday and Sunday.

Given the fact that both the Obamas and Bidens will be on hand at Strawbery Banke, Seacord said the visit will be a historic occasion.

"It's a pretty unusual occurrence," she said, "even on the campaign trail."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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